Shipowners must provide and maintain a US$330 million fund to meet liability for claims under the International Maritime Organisation's (IMO's) new convention on pollution and other damages from hazardous and noxious substances.
In Hong Kong last week, Comite Maritime International (CMI) president Patrick Griggs said owners' liability would be increased under the new protocol, the 1996 HNS Convention.
The increase could be up to six times present levels of liability - depending on vessel size, where the accident occurred and whether it was within a state which had adopted the protocol.
Mr Griggs said the final text of the HNS convention, which covered the liabilities of shippers relating to commonly carried chemicals, had been agreed by the IMO's legal committee.
It needed ratification from 12 countries with fairly large fleets and probably would come into effect in four or five years.
The liabilities had to be increased because the value of money had changed over the years, he said.
